BOOKS TO BORROW

"Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom" written and illustrated by Eric Wight, Simon & Schuster, 90 pages

Read aloud: age 7, 8 and older

Read yourself: age 8, 9 and older

Frankie Pickle has an amazing imagination, and because of that, he goes on incredible adventures. As a superhero, Frankie has zero time (or interest) in cleaning his room. Despite his mother's pleas, Frankie's room just gets messier and messier. Finally, his mother relents and tells Frankie he can do whatever he wants in his own space. There is a catch, though - Frankie will have to deal with the consequences.

Well, things get pretty bad in Frankie's room, and the consequences pile up. Thanks to Frankie's superhero powers, he escapes from the whirlpool of muck that is sucking him in, but not in the way you might think.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Rd., Groton

Library Director: Betty Anne Reiter

Children's Librarian: Kim Balentine

Manager, Library Public Services: Jennifer Miele

Choices this week: "Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer; "Ivy and Bean" by Ann Barrows; "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary Schmidt

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"Pirates vs. Cowboys" by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by David Barneda, Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, 36 pages, $16.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4, 5 and older

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

Burnt Beard the Pirate and his savage crew (all octopuses and a shark thrown in for good measure) have terrorized the seven seas, four oceans and a few lakes for so long they have run out of places to bury their booty. Their only choices are inland, so they set off to Old Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Black Bob McKraw (a bull) and his gang (an assortment of fierce-looking animals) are the terror of the Wild West and often hang around in Old Cheyenne. Needless to say, when Burnt Beard the Pirate and his scallywags roll in to town, trouble begins to brew. Fortunately, just as the pot is about to boil over, Pegleg Highnoon (a giant alligator and the world's only pirate cowboy) rides into town.

"Tons of Trucks" by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Betsy Snyder, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, 20 pages, $13.99 board book

Read aloud: age 2 and older

Read yourself: age 6 and 7

"Tons of trucks before our eyes, in every color, shape, and size!" And that's the truth of this engaging book that features all kinds of trucks and boasts lots of tabs to pull, wheels to spin, flaps to open and a few fun textural elements to touch.

This fun book is a truck extravaganza that makes learning and reading fun business for little kids.

www.greatestbooksforkids.com